Of course, the first recipe that we almost get in a fight about, is the one around Valentine's Day. Not a big fight, just a few minutes of tension, a couple curt sentences. All of it, centered around perfection.

For Nat and me, perfectionism comes up every week. When testing these recipes, when writing these words, when cooking and photographing our meals, we're always asking, are we proud of this? (Healthy striving).

The thing is, it's a slippery slope to the next thought, what will people think? (Perfectionism).

Recently we've both read a few books by Brené Brown that have helped us navigate the tightrope between healthy striving and perfectionism. They've helped us avoid procrastination, or as Brown calls it, Life-paralysis:

Life-paralysis refers to all the opportunities we miss because we’re too afraid to put anything out in the world that could be imperfect. It’s also all of the dreams that we don’t follow because of our deep fear of failing, making mistakes and disappointing others.

And that's hard to put into practice. We care how our recipes and posts are received, but to get anything done, we have to balance that care with a healthy dose of 'this is what we do; if you don't like it make your own blog.'

That's where our little tiff came up - I said "good enough," while Nat said "we can do better."

We met in the middle, of course. (By middle, I mean we followed Nat's lead and kept testing). Until we arrived here, publishing the post on Valentine's day morning, proud of the recipe, unsure of the toppings, and thinking "good enough."

Chocolate Coconut Pudding

Serves 2-4 (makes about 2 cups)

INGREDIENTS

1 can full-fat coconut milk (13.5 oz)

5 Tbsp raw cacao powder

3-4 Medjool dates, pitted

1 Tbsp + 2 tsp chia seeds

pinch of sea salt

TOPPING IDEAS

Toasted hazelnuts

Grated chocolate

Shredded coconut

Ground coffee

Cacao nibs

Granola

Berries

PROCESS

Blend all ingredients together until well combined and smooth. Scrape down sides of blender if necessary.

Pour into a jar and refrigerate overnight or for at least 2 hours.

Serve chilled as is or with toppings of choice

Keeps in the fridge for 2 days.

Cody Gantz

Photography team on the West Coast. Mostly working with companies and magazines in the food world. Our clients are proud of their product, story, or mission (or all three), and we help them produce their idea into a reality.

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